BIO

Meryl Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey, in 1949, and raised in nearby Bernardsville.   Her mother, Mary Wilkinson Streep (1915-2001), was an artist and her father was a pharmaceutical executive.   She became interested in acting while attending Vassar College and pursued a graduate degree from the School of Drama at Yale University.

Streep made her Broadway debut in 1975, at the age of 26, and appeared in four productions through 1977.   She received a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actress in a Play for her performances in the revivals of A Memory of Two Mondays/27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1976).

After a small part in a television movie, she made her feature film debut in 1977.   The following year began what has become a continuing series of accolades for her performances beginning with a Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Series for the television mini-series Holocaust (1978) and her first Academy Award nomination for Actress in a Supporting Role for The Deer Hunter (1978).

Among more than 400 nominations and wins from various film organizations throughout the world, Streep has received:

• 19 Academy Award nominations and two wins for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and The Iron Lady (2011),
• 12 BAFTA Award nominations and two wins for The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981) and The Iron Lady (2011),
• an Honorary César Award in 2003 and
• 4 Australian Film Institute (AFI) nominations and two wins for A Cry in the Dark (1988) and The Iron Lady (2011).

She was nominated for her second Primetime Emmy for …First Do No Harm (1988) and received her second win for the mini-series Angels in America (2003).

Streep began dating the actor John Cazale (1935-1978) after appearing with him in an off-Broadway production in 1975 and cared for him until his death from cancer in 1978.

She married sculptor Don Gummer (1946- ) that same year and the couple raised four children.   They include musician/actor Henry Gummer (1979- ), actress Mamie Gummer (1983- ) and actress Grace Gummer (1986- ).

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at: